October 20, 2025 Marketing and Communications Update

Important Updates

Adobe Creative Cloud

Texas A&M is updating its licensing model for Adobe Creative Cloud. Technology Services is managing this transition on behalf of the university.

To ensure a smooth transition, the university’s current Adobe contract has been extended through Nov. 4. After this date, the following changes will be implemented:

• Adobe Creative Cloud: Licenses for the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite will be assigned to individual employees based on needs determined by each college and division.
• Continued Universitywide Access: There will be no change in access for Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Acrobat Sign and Adobe Express. These applications will remain available to all employees. Additionally, Adobe Express, an all-in-one design app, will soon be made available to all students.

What You Need to Know:

• College and division leaders are currently finalizing the lists of employees who will be assigned an Adobe Creative Cloud license after Nov. 4. You will be notified directly by your unit if your access is scheduled to continue.
• As a preventative measure, we strongly encourage you to back up your Adobe Creative Cloud storage as soon as possible, even though we do not anticipate any access issues. Instructions for this process are available in the Knowledge Base article on backing up Creative Cloud storage.

If you need help or have questions, please contact your unit’s IT support team or reach out to the Adobe team at adobe@tamu.edu.

150th Anniversary Celebration Update

As we approach our university’s 150th anniversary, we know there is quite a bit of buzz about what different events might be hosted, what design assets will be provided and so much more. It is wonderful to know that so many across Texas A&M are excited to celebrate! To help you as you visit with your teams and respective leadership, here are a few key points:

• There is a president-appointed committee leading this process, which includes representation from academic, operational and administrative units across the university. Additional sub-committees are also in place.
• The executive committee is co-chaired by Julie Mosbo Ballestro, university librarian and assistant provost, and Ale Rainey ’15, deputy chief of staff in the Office of the President, who are helping set the foundation for the celebration — which will officially kickoff on Oct. 4, 2026, and continue through May 2027 — through a ‘roadshow’ of presentations and work with the sub-committees.
• As a resource to the university community and the Aggie community at large, a high-level overview of the eight-month-long celebration is available on the 150th anniversary ‘save-the-date’ webpage.
• In spring 2026, the site will be revamped to include additional details, set the overarching storytelling framework and showcase an official event mark with details on how to access the event mark and use it.

More information and updates will be shared in the coming weeks! If you have specific questions, please submit those via email to tamu150@tamu.edu.

Content Packages

Rankings Package

To help you strategically leverage university rankings as powerful proof of our brand promise, we are releasing two new resources.

The first is a comprehensive Rankings Strategy Guide. This guide provides a brand-aligned framework for how to communicate rankings, ensuring our messaging is always consistent, confident and focused on our core mission.

The second is a detailed WSJ Rankings Content Package. This package offers ready-to-use assets specifically for The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) rankings, which validate our commitment to student outcomes and career preparation.

Together, these resources provide the strategy and the tools needed to reinforce our brand narrative with credible, third-party proof. Please use these new guides to share our story of impact with consistency and confidence.

University Commercial

The new Texas A&M commercial has made its debut, premiering nationally on NBC during the University of Notre Dame game and made its local debut at Kyle Field during Midnight Yell, then pregame in the stadium and on ESPN during the football game against Auburn University a few weeks ago, showcasing what it means to be an Aggie and how together, we stand as a force for good. We are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response from internal leaders and external audiences alike, who have met it with strong engagement and enthusiastic feedback across all platforms.

To help you amplify this powerful story, we have created a comprehensive content package. This toolkit provides the resources and tools you need — including b-roll, sample social media copy and sharing tips — to share the university commercial on your own channels and with your audiences.

Thank you for your partnership and support as we continue to share the Texas A&M story with the world.

View the content package

Aggie UX

New Aggie UX WordPress Theme Launches

Texas A&M’s Aggie UX Web Design System continues to expand! The new Aggie UX WordPress theme launched on Sept. 12, 2025, and makes it easier than ever to build websites that are brand-aligned, accessible and easy to manage.

Built with 32 ready-to-use Aggie UX components, the theme empowers communicators to create beautiful, compliant websites faster, with built-in tools for SEO, analytics and accessibility standards.

Why it matters:

• Consistency: Every Aggie UX WordPress site automatically aligns with Texas A&M’s brand and UX standards.
• Accessibility: Meets WCAG requirements out of the box.
• Efficiency: Reduces repetitive work, helping individuals and teams of all skill levels build sites quickly and focus on impact rather than setup.
• Reliability: Thoroughly tested, version-controlled releases ensure long-term stability, security and scalability.

The Aggie UX Web Design System now supports both Cascade and WordPress, enabling individuals of all technical levels to deliver exceptional digital marketing that reflects Texas A&M’s brand and values.

Next Up: Filterable directories, profile pages and mega navigation for complex sites.

Set up your Aggie UX WordPress site

Community Resources Available To You

Design Counsel

Design Counsel is a collaborative space for Texas A&M’s visual storytellers to connect, share ideas and shape the future of creativity and collaboration across the university. Each meeting explores a different topic related to marketing and communications.

We will be taking a break from Design Counsel in November, but are excited to announce Show + Share for the December meeting!

Show + Share is a time for individuals or groups to brag about a marketing project completed for the university in 2025. Each presentation will be allotted five slides and five minutes to present. Virtual presentations are welcome. More information will be shared with registrants in early November. Sign up using the link below!

If you have questions, please contact Emme Benefield at emcmurray05@tamu.edu or via Slack or Teams.

RSVP for Design Counsel Meeting

Aggie UX Open Office Hours

The Division of Marketing and Communications Web team hosts virtual office hours every Thursday from 10-11 a.m. This is a great opportunity to get support with Aggie UX, AUX Cascade theme or any other web-related questions. Drop in for help, guidance or a quick chat about anything related to web or Aggie UX design system tools.

When: Thursdays, 10-11 a.m.
Join Zoom Meeting | Meeting ID: 995 7531 4621| Passcode: 646167

We look forward to seeing you there! Other practical advice for creating web content, applying best practices and using the Aggie UX design system is available on the MarComm site. Be sure to sign up for Aggie UX-specific communications by joining the Aggie UX email list.

Research Communicators Network

The Divisions of Research and Marketing and Communications co-host a biweekly meeting for communicators to connect, share updates and collaborate around promoting Texas A&M’s research enterprise. These meetings are a valuable opportunity for everyone who attends, and we encourage you to send a representative if you do not have someone already participating from your unit, college or school.

When: Every other Tuesday, 10 a.m.

This informal virtual gathering is open to all communicators supporting research initiatives and researchers themselves. It’s a chance to ask questions, get feedback and align on research messaging across the university.

Contact Tim Doty, Assistant Vice President for National Media and Public Relations, or Rusty Cawley, Director of Research Communications, to be added to the calendar invitation.